‘Spacewar!’ exhibit comes to Gotham

Opens Saturday at the Museum of the Moving Image

Vidgame enthusiasts will be zapped back in time at Gotham’s Museum of the Moving Image with its latest exhibit, “Spacewar! Video Games Blast off,” which opens Saturday.

The installation coincides with the 50th anniversary of “Spacewar,” the first digital videogame.

“Spacewar set off a seismic rumble in the early computer science community, the ripples of which are still felt today in the game industry, academia and player cultures,” said exhibit curator John Sharp, a vidgame designer. “It even inspired the first coin-operated arcade game, as well as industry pioneers like Nolan Bushnell, a co-founder of Atari.”

Exhibition, which runs through March 3, will encompass 20 other playable videogames (including vintage models) as well as Q&As with vidgame pioneers and other special presentations. — AJ Marechal